New York Gets $34M From YouTube Privacy Settlement

NEW YORK — New York State will get $34 million from a record-setting settlement with YouTube and Google over allegations that the companies violated kids' privacy rights, officials said Wednesday.

The two tech giants agreed to pay a total of $170 million to New York and the Federal Trade Commission to settle accusations that they collected personal information from kids watching YouTube videos.

Tracking kids' viewing habits and serving them targeted advertisements violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, a federal law that bars websites from collecting personal information for kids younger than 13, according to state Attorney General Letitia James's office.

"These companies put children at risk and abused their power, which is why we are imposing major reforms to their practices and making them pay one of the largest settlements for a privacy matter in U.S. history," James said in a statement.

As the self-described "favorite website for kids 2-12," YouTube hosts many video channels that it and Google know target their content at young children, the AG's office says.

YouTube collected personal information from the viewers of such kid-focused videos even though the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, bars the site from doing so without permission from parents, according to state and federal officials.

The settlement requires Google and YouTube to reform their policies and practices around kids' content in addition to the $170 million fine, $136 million of which will go to the FTC, officials said.

The companies must create a system for users to label their content as kid-focused; tell users about COPPA; train employees annually on compliance with the law; and get consent from parents before collecting children's personal information, according to James's office.

In a blog post about the settlement, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said the company has been taking a "hard look" at its policies around kids' content with input from experts, regulators and parents.

"Today’s changes will allow us to better protect kids and families on YouTube, and this is just the beginning," Wojcicki wrote.